Tom Perez | James Pat Guerrero

To be good at criticizing the Democratic Party’s issues, one must know what they think and how they think. I listened carefully to Secretary Tom Perez’ acceptance speech upon being elected to the Democratic National Party (DNC) Chair. He is a good speaker, but what good is his speaking if he speaks about no issues. Strangely, there was not one issue that he spoke about. He spoke about an interesting process that I have surmised. One way that the Democratic Party tries to gain power is through the word “We.” Since the Democratic Party favors identity politics, it seems to still be a hot rallying center. Identity politics is African-American, Hispanic-American, women, illegal immigrants, LGBT, workers, unions, and anyone who disagrees with the status quo. Identity politics is like trying to please everyone’s special interest. Tom Perez is rallying members and non-members in the same way that Debbie Wasserman-Shultz did. He is appealing to all the identity interests to come together. By coming together, the idea is, they can elect Democratic Party candidates back into power. The problem is circular, though, because even if the Democratic Party candidates were elected to power, they would have no issues to speak, and they would not be able to stay in power. They purposely stay away from issue rhetoric. Issue rhetoric is only answered when the Democratic Party candidates are in power. But as rallying points it is a no go. This makes sense because in identity politics, all would not agree on an issue platform. But all would agree on who else is not good for an office.